


Measure of Care

by Queen_Mab



Series: Grace [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Romance, Stans are thirty in the modern day instead of sixty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 02:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15596418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Mab/pseuds/Queen_Mab
Summary: Stanford Pines isn't always the best at this whole 'relationship' thing, but that's what his brother is there for. Sequel to Gravity Con.





	Measure of Care

There were six missed Skype calls from Grace when Ford opened his laptop in the kitchen. Maybe that should have been his first clue that something was wrong, but he was tired from his unexpectedly all-day tussle with a herd of centaurs. Besides, he was more concerned by the gnomes he saw sneaking into his pantry mere seconds later.

Ford had to sweep the gnomes out of the house with a broom. As soon as he got the last one out, batting it off the porch like a strange, chattering golf ball, his phone rang. Stanley.

“Ford, I’m in jail and Annie ran off with the car. I need you to bail me out.”

“Again?” Ford grimaced as he lifted the hem of his sweater, examining a hoof-shaped bruise growing on his hip. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow morning?”

“I need to get out early. Annie’s probably stolen my credit cards.”

“Your credit cards are already stolen, Stanley.” Ford sighed, checking his watch as he wandered back into his house and meandered towards his open computer, which kept pinging at him. “Fine, I’ll come over, but it’s your money. You need to stop robbing things with her.”

“I can’t help it. She’s crazy and criminal. I think I’m in love.”

Ford sat down at the kitchen table again, strewn with Stanley’s stuff except for Ford’s laptop, the lone bearer of order in the whole cluttered room. Now, alongside the six missed Skype calls was a brief message from Grace.  

_My break’s over. Can’t talk until tomorrow._

“Oh. Darn.” Ford mumbled to himself as he reached for Stan’s bag, which was strewn on the table next to Ford’s computer, of course. The place was a sty. He had to talk his brother into cleaning up after himself after he was out of jail.

“What oh darn? Did she steal my cash too?” Stan asked.

“No, no, I forgot I was supposed to have a Skype date with Grace today. It’s her birthday.” Ford found the false compartment in Stan’s bag, pulling out a wad of cash. He counted it all out as he said, “Found the money. I’m on my way.”

Ford listened for the ‘Thank you, Ford, the best and most long-suffering brother in the multiverse’ he knew he wasn’t about to get, but instead of the mumbled ‘hurry up’ he was expecting, there was silence. The silence was so loud it almost gave Ford tinnitus.

“You _WHAT?_ ”

Ford jerked the phone away from his ear with a full-body wince. Now _that_ was going to give him tinnitus.

“Don’t yell right into my ear, Stanley,” he said, readjusting his glasses and considering the longest route he can possibly take to the county jail.

“Damn it, Ford, go call her! And order some flowers to be delivered or she’s going to dump you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Stanley.” Ford picked up his car keys and meandered past the dated linoleum kitchen and towards the porch, but he didn’t move to actually get into his car. It’d be best to wait until Stanley was done on the phone before trying to save him from his cell. Safety first, you know. “It’s not the first call I’ve forgotten. She knows how important my work is, and I finally found the centaur herd that hides in the woods. Besides, she’s working and she doesn’t like it when I call while she’s working.”

“It’s her _birthday_ , you idiot!”

Ford had to move the phone away from his ear again.

“Dates are important to chicks! Annie told me that if I ever forgot something big like that, she’d give me a Colombian necktie!”

Ford rolled his eyes. “The difference is that your girlfriend is crazy and mine isn’t.” He paused, frowning at the grass under his feet. “What’s a Colombian necktie?”

Stanley groaned on the other side of the line. “It means she’ll cut a hole in my throat and pull my tongue through it.”

“Eugh.” Ford grimaced, shaking his head as he spun the car keys between his fingers. “Why do you still go out with her?”

“We covered that. She’s crazy. And your girlfriend is going to dump you for the next idiot she sees if you don’t call her.”

Ford rolled his eyes again as he slid into the car. Ugh. There were fast food bags all over the dashboard and a bat lying in the back. That was going to cost Stanley another ten minutes in jail. “If you want me to bail you out today, I suggest you quit it and let me drive.”

Stanley sighed so loudly that Ford could practically hear him rub the bridge of his nose. “It’s your funeral, bro.”

Ford hung up the phone, but because Stanley was obnoxious, he spent some extra time cleaning up the car instead of leaving. Gnomes were lurking at the edge of the forest, eyeing the house now that Ford wasn’t inside. Ford rolled down the window to throw the fast food bags at them. They squealed, running at the bags on all fours and tearing them apart. Once they were down to only a few bags, they started wrestling for them.

Without Stanley’s yammering in his ear, Ford did have to acknowledge a little twist in his gut. Maybe he should text Grace, at least. It wasn’t the first time he forgot a Skype date of theirs, but a text wouldn’t go amiss.

 _Sorry I missed your calls. I was fighting centaurs and forgot. Happy birthday._ Ford typed and fired off the text quickly before starting the car. He didn’t even have time to get to the bottom of the driveway before his cellphone dinged with a text.

_Whatever, ass._

Ford paused, foot on the brake, and stared down at his phone. Deciding Stanley could languish in jail to think about what he did for a little longer, Ford picked up his phone again.

_Why are you angry?_

There was barely time for the gray bubble to appear before her next text came in. _Are you serious?_

_Yes?_

_Oh my god._

_I’ve forgotten before. It never bothered you then._

_It’s my birthday you idiot also it’s crunch time at work_

Ford paused for a moment. Oh, right, the game her team was developing was due to launch soon.

_So does that mean you’re busy?_

There was a long pause after his reply. He hated long pauses.

_I slept under my desk last night and I was only allowed to sleep two hours. I can’t do this right now_

Ford was pretty sure that some labor laws were being broken, but he also had a feeling that he really shouldn’t push his girlfriend if he wanted to keep having a girlfriend.

_Alright. Happy birthday._

_Whatever._

Ford sighed, mumbling about women and hormones before throwing his phone on the passenger seat and driving onto the road. What was he supposed to do? Drop everything to tell her happy birthday? Set an alarm so he doesn’t forget? She’s not the only one who has a busy work schedule.

He couldn’t get rid of the uncomfortable twisting in his stomach for the whole drive. He didn’t like it when she was angry at him, but she was being unreasonable. He had apologized, hadn’t he?

He took the scenic route to the jail. He passed Lazy Susan’s diner, pondering why he would still feel bad when he had already said sorry and happy birthday. He passed by the waterfall, trying to convince himself that he really shouldn’t feel bad, because she had no reason to be mad. He passed by the dump, fingers white on the steering wheel, because why does her busy schedule mean he should be the one to accommodate? By the time he got to the local jailhouse, the sun was setting.

After Ford posted bail, Stanley came out of jail with a scowl twisting his mouth. “What took you so long?”

“I was enjoying the quiet too much,” Ford grumbled, shuffling back to the car. “And just to remind you, the car isn’t your own personal trashcan.”

“What crawled up your tailpipe and died?” Stanley slumped into the passenger seat, eyebrow arching. “Let me guess: you called your girlfriend and she’s pissed.”

“That’s enough, Stanley.” Ford started the car. “And I texted, not called.”

“Oh my God.” Stanley covered his face with his hands. “You’re useless.”

Ford bristled, shoulders hunching as he sent a glare towards his brother. “That’s not helpful.”

Stanley waved his hands at the windshield, like somehow the asphalt and potholes would hold the answer. “Listen, this isn’t that hard. Just order some flowers to be delivered to wherever the hell she lives. She gets to feel good with some useless plants and you’re off the hook, easy.”

“She doesn’t like flowers,” Ford mumbled, frowning at the road ahead. He remembered her saying as much when he visited her once. They were walking down the street outside of her house. Peddlers walked outside the park with bundles of roses, and one thrust a flower at Grace, looking meaningfully at Ford. Grace had wrinkled her nose, pushing the flower away with a loud, ‘Ew, no.’ Ford had given the peddler a smug smile before they wandered into the park to find a private spot to hold hands and kiss. ‘Why would anyone spend money on flowers when they can buy food or art?’ she had said as they walked along. Ford hadn’t paid much attention to what she was saying at the time, because he was more concerned with the intermittent feeling of her lips on his.

“All chicks love flowers, believe me. The sooner you give her something, the sooner you can make kissy faces on Skype again.” Stan leaned back in his seat, whipping out his phone and opening Google. “Look, I’ll find a flower place that delivers. Just give me your credit card number and her address.”

“You already have my credit card number,” Ford grumbled.

“Yeah, but I don’t already have her address, so cough it up.”

Ford gave the address, though somewhat reluctantly. Stanley’s fingers were a blur on his phone as he arranged a flower delivery. “Shouldn’t you be hunting down your girlfriend instead of dealing with mine?” Ford asked, taking the fastest route back home he could. He didn’t know what to do with this problem, and when he didn’t know what to do about personal problems, he threw himself into work.

“She’ll be back when she runs out of cash and holds up a gas station to pay me.” Stanley waved his phone in the air, showing off the purchase confirmation for a wildly expensive bouquet. “You can thank me later.”

“This is ridiculous.” But Ford’s grip on the wheel loosened slightly. Grace would get her flowers, she’d be celebrated on her birthday, and everything would be fine.

By the time he got home and locked himself in his lab, the relief turned expectant, waiting for her response. He calmed down through examining and testing the eyebat guano he’d gathered the night before, and after a few hours, his phone rang. It was Grace, calling with heartfelt forgiveness, no doubt.

The first thing she said when he answered his phone was, “Are you trying to buy your way out of this?”

They needed to work on her forgiving skills.

“My front door is drowning in flowers and the card says it was ordered after you stood me up. Is this supposed to be an apology?” Her voice was sharpened down to a razor edge, ready to cut right through his face with one wrong move.

Ford scowled at the bat guano under his microscope, mood souring like acid. “If you don’t like it, you could just say so.”

“You know that I don’t like flowers. You stood me up _on my birthday._ I’ve been making excuses for you each time you forget our calls, but today?”

“I _forgot._ Besides, I had found a rare centaur herd.”

“Do you hear yourself right now?” She let out a harsh sigh, like all the air was deflating from her chest, and something in Ford’s gut squirmed. “Listen, you’re not the only one with a busy job. I remember our meetings even if I’m busy because _I care_. What does it say that you don’t remember them, even today?”

Not even Ford was dense enough to miss the implication there. Smoldering began in his gut, burning heat into his skin that he didn’t bother to hide in his voice. How could she say things like that? “Of course I care about you. I just forgot, that’s all.”

“Forgetting important things means you don’t care enough to remember.”

Ford grinded his teeth together. “That’s not fair.”

She sighed in his ear, and he could practically hear her running her fingers through her hair. “Maybe it is. I don’t know. But I need to sleep as much as I can and get back to work tomorrow. Let’s talk later, okay?”

“Okay.” Ford frowned at nothing, reluctant to hang up on that note. “I’m sorry I forgot. I really do hope it’s been a happy birthday. I’ll take you out next time I visit, alright?”

“I’d like that. Good night.”

“Good night.”

He hung up, but that squirming feeling in his gut still wasn’t gone.

He settled at his desk and started looking through his microscope at the bat guano again. It took him five minutes to notice that the scope had slid out of focus and he was seeing nothing.

Ford leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.

He knew Grace, but more importantly, he knew himself. It seemed that she had forgiven him, but she was still hurt, and he was still the reason. Did she really think that he didn’t care about her? That forgetting a half dozen dates was an indication of his investment in their relationship?

She was the one he talked to. She was the one he trusted. She was the one he opened up to, who he discussed his feelings with even if he didn’t really feel fine. If that didn’t say care, what did?

He sat there for a while, too proud to go to Stan for help and too guilty to go back to his work. The flowers weren’t a good idea. She’d never expressed any interest in flowers, but maybe he could do something else. Something her style. Something practical.

What was it she had said? ‘Why would anyone spend money on flowers when they can buy food or art?’

He went to bed early for the first time since Stan arrived in Gravity Falls. Luckily, Stanley wasn’t there to disturb his sleepless tossing and turning—he was too busy meeting up with his crazy girlfriend, doubtlessly to argue about who should get more of the profit from their crimes. Hopefully there would be no neckties from Colombia involved.

The night wasn’t restful, but it was informative. It gave him time to think.

He didn’t text her at six when he woke up. She didn’t like getting early morning texts, and it sounded like she needed the sleep. Instead, he used the extra time to prepare a proper apology.

By 8:00am, he was locked in his lab and he sent a text. _I’m sorry. I hope today is better than tomorrow._

Her reply came back within five minutes.

_Someone delivered a ton of bagels to our office. The card said it was from ‘The biggest ass in the multiverse.’ Was that you?_

_Yes._

_You didn’t have to._

_I wanted to._

_Everyone loved them. You’re a sweetie._

He breathed a sigh of relief. _When is crunch time over? I’d like to Skype with you._

_We launch next Friday, but that’s a full moon. I know you’re busy on full moons._

Ford hesitated, leaning his phone against his forehead. He knew what he had to do, but he had to steel himself for it. _There will be other full moons. I’d like to talk to you._

_That’s really sweet of you, Ford. Thanks._

_Kisses?_

_Kisses._

She sent a series of kissing emojis and hearts. Ford smiled, setting down the phone and running a hand through his hair. It was like someone had just taken a bag full of rocks off his back.

He didn’t like missing important time to work, but he could stand to do it for her. She put up with him, after all.

Humming softly to himself, he returned to his microscope, and he worked in peace.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys had fun! Comments, critiques, and compliments are all loved. 
> 
> This was written as a commission for comicgeekery at Tumblr. If you would like to commission a work from me as well, please visit my commissions page at themadqueenmab. tumblr. com / commissions.


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